Latest News from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnian Serb Ruling Party Plans to Pay Religious Officials
Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency and head of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, the ruling party in Republika Srpska, has come under criticism after suggesting that religious officials' salaries should be paid by the entity.
Pahor tells Politika EU ignoring W Balkans will have consequences
Belgrade – President Borut Pahor has noted in an interview with Monday’s issue of the Serbian newspaper Politika that the EU not wanting or being unable to establish greater presence in the Western Balkans will have consequences. He said he will continue to work for the EU accession prospects of the Western Balkans and expressed understanding for Serbia.
Slovenia and Germany sign cooperation action plan
Berlin – Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon was in Berlin on Friday to meet her German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, with the pair signing a joint action plan on three-year strategic cooperation and announcing further strengthening of cooperation between Slovenia and Germany, also relating to Ukraine.
Szijártó: "It's a shame for Brussels"
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Peter Szijjrt, said in Banja Luka that it is "a shame for Brussels" that the European road of the Western Balkan countries has been slowed down.
Bosnia’s Serb Entity Welcomes Hungary’s 35 million euros in Aid
During his visit to Banja Luka in December last year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban promised 100 million euros in financial assistance to Bosnia's Serb-led entity, Republika Srpska, as part of Hungary's Responsible Neighbourhood policy, to enhance stability in the region.
Sanctioned Politicians Join Race for Posts in Bosnia Elections
Milorad Dodik, the Bosnian Serb leader and Serbian member of the tripartite state presidency, will not be running for a second mandate in October, he has clarified.
Instead, Dodik, who has been sanctioned twice by the US and once by the UK, will be running for the post of president of Bosnia's Serb-majority entity, Republika Srpska.
Dodik: Who consented to this?
Serbian member of the BiH Presidency, Milorad Dodik, pointed out that no body in Bosnia-Herzegovina has given consent to the presence of any military formation, not even the British one.
Therefore, as Dodik said, they do not come to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a legal way.
Potential "NATO blitzkrieg"?
"Therefore, it is possible that there will be a redistribution of some global relations. Bosnia-Herzegovina will certainly become a member of NATO. It can even be a blitzkrieg, to the surprise of many. And it may happen that we will still have to come to an agreement and find a compromise solution, in what way, in terms of interoperability, equipment...
Nationalists to Show Film Praising Serb Forces on Srebrenica Anniversary
Nationalist organisation Eastern Alternative said it will screen a film about the "liberation of Srebrenica" by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995, a documentary including a speech by war criminal Ratko Mladic, in Srebrenica on July 11, the same day as the 27th anniversary of the genocide of Bosniaks will be commemorated nearby.
Berlin first bilateral visit for new foreign minister (background)
Ljubljana – Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon will visit Berlin on Friday to meet her counterpart Annalena Baerbock. Fajon’s first bilateral visit will focus on the crisis in Ukraine, as well as bilateral cooperation, the EU and the Western Balkans, the Foreign Ministry said ahead of the trip.
UK to Send Military Experts to Bolster Bosnian Security
Boris Johnson during his visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina in April 2017. Photo: EPA/FEHIM DEMIR.
At the request of NATO Headquarters Sarajevo, a UK military counter-disinformation expert and a civilian strategic defence adviser will be deployed to Bosnia to support and train its armed forces.
Joint Serbia-Srpska Power Plans Leave Bosnia in Cold
Serbia and Bosnia's Serb-run entity are forging ahead with joint hydro-electric plants, whatever Bosnia's state-level institutions say.
Human Trafficking Victims in Bosnia ‘Need Better Protection’: Report
The Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, GRETA, an independent monitoring group, said in a report for the Council of Europe published on Tuesday that Bosnia and Herzegovina's has improved legislation to combat human trafficking but it needs to be implemented more effectively to ensure protection and justice for victims.
Bosnian Serb Leader Dodik Vows to Defy Constitutional Court
Bosnian Serb political leader Milorad Dodik told media after the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ruled on Monday against the declaration by the Republika Srpska parliament that the entity "is going its own way and that it will continue to do what it thinks is best for it".
Dodik condemned the ruling as "completely outside the law and the constitution".
It’s Time Bosnia Looked Beyond EU Membership
As a lecturer in Sarajevo, I sat through numerous MA thesis defences on Bosnia's European integration process. In the media, countless pundits and academics reinvented themselves as EU experts and made the lecture circuit, explaining the benefits of integration.